Sheets-sheet



A April 1953 B. w. G. JACKSON ET AL 2,636,970

APPARATUS FOR SOFTENING WAXES OR THE LIKE MATERIALS Filed Sept. '5, 19512 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOQI y. 7- M M- w April 28, 1953 a. w. G. JACKSONET AL 2,635,970

APPARATUS FOR SOFTENING WAXES oR THE LIKE MATERIALS Filed Sept. 5, 19512 SHEETSSHEET 2 s/- i-IIzzEZEEEEEEE'EEEf i l A A A 33 INVENTOR 840k! 9Wv 2 z I 5 BY: WWI/$4 04124,

QTTORNEY:

Patented Apr. 28, 1953 "UNITED STATES LIKE MATERIALS seem-e Wit-1mmGeorge Jackson, Southampton, anti Clarenceskinner; Grays, England A p'lizfiw'septembr 5, 1951,sel-iail'Nojmsmt In Great Britain April 11, 1951 VClaims. 1

"This invention some he apparatus for softenihg waxes or the 'iikematerials and relates more particularly to supine-r2 us for softening ormelting the wax portions of hite Tw'ks.

in "making entuz es it is custom y to form a Lilaster mould and toproduce a replicaof the mould in which a massof "wa'x -takes thepi-aoeof the teeth. The'ciepth'oi the mass is greater than thede'pt'h ofthe teeth and "the bite ""olook i'sim troducedto the mouth to ascertainthe 'eimount'of WaXfWhich is to be removed so that the upper and lowerclentur'es properly meet.

Hitherto the process 01 *remov been done iz y i no using a soften Wo'the wax. This proeeiiure requ'ir'eg that a heating means he provided forthe spatula (such as a 'gas ring "or Bunsen burner) and it is found notonly that the procedure is protracted. but that with continual use ofmeans for heating the spatula the room iii which the operations areproceeding becomes-excessive- 1y waT'm and the wax of the hits blocktones to soften. The Working conditions also are unpleasant.

An object of the iir'esIit intention is to pro"- vide apparatus forshaping hite blocks whereby the above disadvantages are reduced orovercome and according to the present invention the eppeuatezs e01 lrises in combination, a member having ubst'antiaiiiz smear-race, ei'eetc meens for hen 11;" id member, and means to 'oolleot Wax or Jhfi Imelted on surfa-se, said. surface being adeot'ed to have implied to itthe body or wax or the like which is to he shaped'and being positionedsuch that the molten Wax drains thetettom, a into the ooii'eeting means.

When the bite blocks have been shafted such that t l 'eir pie-he fsoesproperly meet, it is sometime's practice to join them together. Hitherto"this has been done by wotking "on the shutt'ing surf-aces of the blocksin known manner with a warm spatula. This method of joining the hi"blocks is objectionable for reasons sit i imeiiso'us'sed above, and itisoeoo'rding 1 another object of the present vehti on to provide meansWh "eby the plane stresses of the shaped b 'e oloeks'be rapidly treatedand softened such that when the two bite-blocks are mtmuu'eeu into themouth, and the mouth is closed the blocks are united together.

Aceorciing to a feature 01" the present inventi a therefore, there isprovided in addition to fiat su face a surfaoe comprising a pluralitypaz'a-il'el'ri'os which is adapted to have of gen t ap'islie'dto it theheciy'of wax or the like which is g the wax has spatula to 2 to "betiBited, a'hfi *Wl'iibh 'positioned such that the molten wax drainstherefrom between the iibis.

it "is preferred that the flat surface is inclined to the horizontal,seidpolle'ctihg 'meens'is a remevame "receptacle positionethbeneath thelower edge of said surface. It is also brei'e'rred that "saidibbe'dsu'rfeice is indlined to "the hori- Zorita-L eiid positioned abovesaid fiat surface suc'h thsit iiiofte'n We c'i'raihs therefrom, on tosaid at'surfa se. Preferajhiy, the Tibia are of an iii-Vefted ii-seetio'n, hild the Hist Tib O'I'l each side of the ribbed surface isflat topbe'd, and the eh'strinel formed between the fiat' top'ped riband the neit adjacent rib is deeper than the channels between2dj'eoe'n't V-se'ctid'n *rib's. I

Preferalol also, the Ynrfiber is formed with Chiifiill'i; which boufidsaid flat surface at its inclined edges, ztn'd said dhafinei'scommunicate ohe with h ahfle'l between the 15st pair of adjacent ribs enthe i i'hbed suifa'c'e at 'e'ec'h side of the fitted Sm-r ce.

In practice the temperet" 0f the heatedsiirfaees is "maintained at a'pr' etrmineti level by means of a. thermally obeiated "switch so as toensure that the 'smfaee of the wax which is applied to them is melted orsoftened "Without -c1e- 1eteiiouslyafietztihg the 'inttin body of theWax, anti two imii'dat'i'ng lamps are provided, em to Show 'When theheating current is switched on, ajhd the oth'erfto shew When thesurfaces are at the pi'deteimined level of temperaiture.

A specifio embodiment of the present invention Willil'lOW be described,"merely by way of example th "reference to theeiccompanying drawingswhereof:

Figure} "is a cross-sectional View of "the apparatus shownfih Figure 1showing certain of its c'iihstiiitiohal 'featu're's.

it lguree "is a oirouit'diagr'ajm for "the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus comprises a cabinet genera yindicated at 1e whioh is fixed to a tray The dzibinet a'nd tray arefetrieateofidm wood, although any other suitable material may be used ifdesired. The front Wall of the Cabinet [2 made to be removable, andcan-res 'at its lower e ge a. stand i3 which rests in the tray "H as atWhn the front Wall is in position (seepartioula'i'ly"Figure 2). Thestand carries a weage shaped housing generally indicated at l5 which isan aluminium, or aluminium alloy casting having two generally triangularside walls i l and an inclined member 20. The housing may however befabricated from sheet metal of high thermal conductivity such as copperor the like if desired. The housing is of a width less than the width ofthe stand, and is secured to the stand by means of bolts is which passthrough lugs l1 cast integrally with the side walls i l of the housingsuch that the open back of the housing rests against the wall 52 of thecabinet and the lower edge 32 of the member 2%) overhangs the front 19of the stand 13 as best shown in Figure 2. The housing is insulated fromthe stand l3 and the wall l2 by means of asbestos sheets 22 and 23respectively.

The inclined member 28 of the housing is divided into an upper and alower portion of which the surface 25 of the lower portion issubstantially fiat, whilst the upper portion has a plurality ofgenerally parallel upstanding ribs 26 of an inverted V-section whichextend downwardly from the upper edge 27 of the inclined member 21) asshown in Figure 1.

A short distance from each inclined edge 3!) of the member 28 there is achannel 31 which extends from the upper edge 2'! of the member 20 to itslower edge 32, and the ribs 25 lie between the channels 3i which areparallel and are, throughout their length, of uniform depth in member2t. Lying outside each channel and beside the ribbed portion of themember 20 is a relatively wide fiat-topped rib 33.

A receptacle B l fits into the tray ll in front of the stand is andbeneath the lower edge 32 of the member 2a, to receive the molten waxwhich runs down the surface 25 of the member 20 between the channels 3!and also down these channels, the latter being provided to direct anymolten wax which flows to the sides of the surface 25 downwardly intothe receptacle 34. In the apparatus now being described, the receptacleis a casting having slightly tapered internal walls to facilitate theremoval of the wax after setting and is formed with two inwardlydirected lugs 35 by which the receptacle may be lifted from the tray H.

Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, an electric heating element A isclamped (within the housing it) to the back of the member 20 by means ofa plate ll which is screwed to lugs 42 cast integrally with the member21) of the housing. The element is insulated from the plate in usualmanner by asbestos sheets 43, and lies behind the surface 25 and theribs 2%, between the lugs 52, and against a bottom stop 45 (see Figure2).

In the apparatus which is now being described a thermostat ie is carriedwithin the housing by the member 29 above the resistance element 46, andthe front wall l2 of the cabinet If] is recessed, as at it, to receivethe thermostat. Above the thermostat the upper edge 21 of the member 28is recessed to form an air vent 50. The thermostat is wired in circuitwith the heating element, and is set to maintain the temperature of theribbed and flat surfaces of the member 20 at the desired level.

A switch 52 for the element is provided mounted on top of the cabinetH], and the cabinet also carries two indicator lamps 53 (see Figure 3)which illuminate two transparent domes 54 respectively. The domes areconveniently coloured one red, and one amber.

Referring to Figure 4, the lamp which illuminates the red dome is wiredacross the power leads to indicate when the switch 52 is closed. Thelamp which illuminates the amber dome is wired in parallel with theheating element, such that when the desired temperature of the surfaces(as determined by the thermostat), is reached, both the element and theamber dome are switched off.

In use, the dental surgeon or other operator applies the bite block tothe surface 25 of the member 20, the heating element having previouslybeen switched on and the required temperature reached, and as a resultthe wax of the block is slowly melted to impart a desired shape to theblock. The molten wax runs down the surface 25 and the channels 8i intothe receptacle 34 where it resets and from which it may be recovered forsubsequent use. The dental surgeon manipulates the bite block so as toremove the wax where required and the flat surface ensures that a planeface is formed on the bite block when this has been suitably reduced insize.

When the bite blocks are to the required shape they may be joinedtogether by pressing the plane surface of each block against the ribs ofthe upper portion of the face member in order to form a series ofparallel grooves (or two sets of grooves at right angles to each other)in the plane face of the bite blocks and at the same time to soften thewax near the plane face, whereupon the two bite blocks are introducedinto the mouth and brought together in usual manner, the softened waxuniting the two blocks.

The procedure referred to above applies when a set of upper and lowerdentures are being made. The procedure followed when making an upper orlower set of dentures only is generally the same.

With the apparatus described, since the heat is directly and locallyapplied by the heating element to the member 2%, it is found that use ofthe apparatus over extended periods does not result in the room becomingso hot that the wax of the bite blocks becomes soft, also the workingconditions are more congenial.

Another advantage associated with the apparatus is that the temperatureof the inclined member is automatically and accurately controlled by thethermostat so as to ensure that the surface of the wax which is appliedto the inclined member is melted or softened without deleteriouslyaffecting the main body of the wax. In this way the softening andmoulding may be made largely independent of the skill and judgment ofthe dental surgeon.

The procedure in shaping the bite blocks followed by certain dentalsurgeons does not require the use of the ribbed upper portion of theinclined member and accordingly the apparatus may be generally asdescribed above, the upper portion of the inclined member beingdispensed with. In another arrangement the ribbed and flat portions maybe formed on a common inclined member and arranged side by side insteadof one above the other as described above.

We claim:

1. For shaping wax bite blocks, apparatus comprising in combination, ashaping member, an electric element for heating said member to atemperature above the melting point of the wax, a frame to support saidelement and said shaping member so that a surface of the latter isexposed for engagement by the bite block thereby selectively to melt thewax and shape the bite block and a receptacle to receive molten wax, the

exposed shaping surface of the member being so arranged that the moltenwax drains off said surface into the receptacle.

2. For shaping wax bite blocks, apparatus comprising in combination, aplate-like member having a plane surface, an electric element forheating said member to a temperature above the melting point of the wax,a frame to support said element and said member so that said planesurface is exposed for engagement by the bite block thereby selectivelyto melt the wax and shape the bite block, and a receptacle to receivemolten wax, said plane surface being so arranged that the molten waxdrains off said surface into the receptacle.

3. For shaping wax bite blocks, apparatus comprising in combination aplate-like member having a surface composed of a plurality of generallyparallel ribs, an electric element for heating said member to atemperature above the melting point of the wax, a frame to support saidelement and said member so that said surface is exposed for engagementby the bite block thereby selectively to melt the wax and shape the biteblock, and a receptacle to receive molten wax, said ribbed surface beingso arranged that the molten wax drains off said surface between the ribsand into the receptacle.

4. For shaping wax bite blocks, apparatus comprising in combination aplate-like member having a plane surface, an electric element forheating said member to a temperature above the melting point of the wax,a frame to support said element and said member so that said planesurface is exposed for engagement by the bite block thereby selectivelyto melt the wax and shape the bite block and is inclined to thehorizontal,

ceive molten wax drained from said surface.

5. For shaping wax bite blocks, apparatus comprising in combination aplate-like member having a surface composed of a plurality of generallyparallel ribs, .an electric heating element for heating said member to atemperature above the melting point of the wax, a frame to support saidelement and said member so that said ribbed surface is exposed forengagement by the bite block thereby selectively to melt the wax andshape the bite block and is inclined to the horizontal so that waxmelted on said surface drains off the surface between theribs, and areceptacle supported by said frame to receive molten wax drained fromsaid surface.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the ribs are of an invertedV-section.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said member has a pair ofchannels each to bound one inclined edge of said plane surface.

BERNARD WILLIAM GEORGE JACKSON.

CLARENCE SKINNER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,396,957 Heidbrink Nov. 15, 1921 1,831,832 Wise Nov. 17, 19311,913,704 Elkan June 13, 1933 1,962,007 Dow June 5, 1934 2,041,542Gribble May 19, 1936 2,187,760 Sherman Jan. 23, 1940 2,248,867 Hallman,Sr July 8, 1941 2,500,219 Troupe Mar. 14, 1950 2,576,371 Thompson et a1Nov. 27, 1951

